1817. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
288 
Another gave— 
Early Harvest, Porter, Baldwin. 
Stephen H. Smith, of Rhode Island, who has grown 
and tested a hundred and fifty kinds, says that all the 
winter apples raised in New England, are not worth as 
much as the three kinds named in the following list, 
given by him in the Horticulturist: 
1. Rhode Island Greening: first for health of tree, 
bearing, keeping, and cooking. 
2 . Baldwin: good for bearing, table, and keeping. 
3. Roxbury Russet: good for bearing and keeping. 
A. J. Downing gives the following select list of 
thirteen hardy apples:— 
Early Harvest, Jersey Sweeting, 
American Sum. Pearmain, Porter, 
Large Yellow Bough, Baldwin, 
Red Astrachan, English Russet, 
Summer Queen, Roxbury Russet, 
Fall Pippin, Rhode Island Greening, 
Yellow Bellflower. 
It will be observed' that the last list embraces all in 
the preceding lists, except Williams’ Red, Whit6 Seek- 
nofarther, and Fameuse. These added would give 
sixteen fine varieties. T. 
REMEDY FOR SLUGS ON CHERRY TREES. 
Editors of the Cultivator— Some three or four 
years ago I observed, for the first time, a small slimy 
insect upon the leaves of the cherry tree, which made 
sad havoc of the leaves, and materially injured the 
quality of the fruit. They grow to the length of one- 
third of an inch, and at first view look much like the 
common pollywag, but are provided with some twelve 
pairs of stumps, which enables them to travel over the 
surface of the leaf, and very little more—one among 
the millions of examples which go to show the beau¬ 
tiful fitness and adaptation of organs to the necessi¬ 
ties of the animal. They make their appearance in 
June, and continue their stay till August. Their ap¬ 
pearance is extremely disgusting, especially when they 
take up their residence on the fruit. They eat out the 
parinchyma of the leaf, and from their vast numbers, 
often five to six on a leaf, in a little time the tree lookk 
as if it had been burnt over. 
So far as I can learn, they are a new creation. I 
have taken some pains to ascertain the routine of their 
existence, but as yet with little success. A short 
time before they made their appearance I observed 
millions of small white flies or millers, buzzing through 
the tops of the trees. These disappeared after two or 
three days, and in a week or ten days I found the 
leaves swarming with theee insects. 
The object of this communication is to present to 
all who may be interested, a remedy, easily applied 
and infallible in its operation. This year my cherry 
trees blossomed profusely, and I determined to preserve 
the fruit if possible. After the insects made their 
appearance, I sifted dry slaked lirtie over the leaves, 
and from the moist , slimy constitution of the insect, 
every particle of lime adhered to them that came in 
contact with them. The consequence was they soon 
gave indications of distress, rolled up and fell to the 
ground. They are alrbost always found upon the top 
of the leaf, rendering it very easy to reach them; and 
I believe they generally die, even from, the effects of 
a minute quantity of the lime. I applied lime twice 
only to my trees; and although a few insects escaped, 
yet I have a fine crop of cherries, and my trees have 
a good covering of healthy leaves. Had I left my 
trees to their fate, probably every leaf would have 
fallen off, and left a small, half-perfected berry upon 
the otherwise naked branches. Samuel Guthrie. 
Sacketts Harbor , July 20, 1847. 
P. S. Since writing the above, a neighbor who has 
a good number of cherry trees, informs me that his 
trees are dead and dying—that the slugs, as they 
are called here, have left scarcely a live leaf upon 
them, whilst the fruit is stinted, sour, and worthless 
Although I sifted dime but twice to save my fruit, yet 
it is obvious that it should be done so often as may be 
necessary. With a small ladder, set up on the wind 
ward side of the tree, and three or four quarts of dry 
lime, any one may in a few minutes save both the tree 
and its fruit. 
THE CURCULIO. 
Some time ago, a remedy Was proposed in the Ohio 
Cultivator, on the authority of Gen. J. T. Worthing¬ 
ton, consisting of tubs, whitewashed inside, and con¬ 
taining an inch of water, placed under the trees in the 
night, with a lighted candle in each. The light at¬ 
tracts them, and it was stated that u hundreds had 
been caught in this way, in one night in a single tub,” 
and that it had been practised with much success by 
“ one or more ” fruit growers of Chillicothe. In a 
subsequent number of that papeq, I. Dille, an intelli¬ 
gent nurseryman, states that he has tried this remedy 
without any success whatever; that some of these in¬ 
sects were under water half an hour, without any ap¬ 
parent inconvenience; and that they ascended the side 
of the tub 11 as readily as a sailor would a rope.” 
A. J. Downing recommended in the Horticulturist, 
throwing up the ground late in autumn in trenches and 
ridges, for the purpose of freezing them, and stated 
that a correspondent had found it quite successful. 
The writer tried this same way last autumn, but this 
year they were thicker than ever. On one little tree 
of the Italian Damask plum, not seven feet high, thus 
treated, eighteen curculios were found at a single 
shaking. 
Jarring down on white sheets, assisted by the la¬ 
bors of pigs in devouring the stung fruit, appears to be 
the only well known and effectual remedy. David 
Thomas, of Cayuga Co., N. Y., who first put in prac¬ 
tice this remedy nearly thirty years ago, and who has 
continued it ever since, has saved fine crops of plums 
and apricots the past and present season, although 
these seasons have proved remarkable for the abun¬ 
dance of these depredators. Last year he destroyed 
on the spread sheets over 1,700, and the present year 
over 2,100 curculios. T. 
Poisonous Parts of the Pie Plant. —The Lon¬ 
don Gardeners’ Chronicle states cases of severe illness 
being produced by using the swelling buds of the pie 
plant for tarts. Several cases are also mentioned 
wherer severe or dangerous illness has resulted from 
the use of the leaves as spinach. We have known a 
similar case in this country. Oxalic acid in the leaves 
may be the cause. Hence caution should be used not 
to employ any part of this plant as food, except that 
which experience has proved harmless. 
Asparagus. —A correspondent of the Farmer and 
Mechanic, raised asparagus very successfully as fol¬ 
lows-—“ I selected a warm, sunny spot; and mixed 
in freely, sand and coarse manure, saturating it with 
brine to the depth of two feet. On the top I put three 
inches of fine loam and vegetable mould; planting my 
seeds after steeping them in warm water 24 hours, 
the seeds about 8 inches apart, and the rows one foot.” 
Every autumn fine manure is mixed with the surface 
soil, and a coat of coarse manure protects the whole 
through winter. Two quarts of salt on a bed 5 feet 
by 30, are sprinkled every spring, and water freely ap-. 
plied every evening in dry weather. 
